Tom Latham Biography

Tom Latham’s technical proficiency earned him an entry to international cricket at a tender age of 19. In an era of Brendon McCullum’s aggressive brand of cricket, Latham pursued a rather different line of work. Getting behind the ball with a high elbow and Zen-like focus, Latham is more of a traditionalist amidst New Zealand’s modern-day modus operandi.

Two years later, after a series of consistent show in limited-overs, Latham was handed a Test cap against India, in 2004, replacing the injured Ross Taylor. He had a forgettable outing. His dream translated to a 10-ball duck, batting at No. 4. The think-tank kept faith in him. They promoted him to the opening slot on the West Indies tour, eventually ending their ever-growing hunt for a quality opener. He repaid the faith scoring three back-to-back half-centuries; and thus began the journey of one of New Zealand’s finest in the longest format.

When New Zealand played Pakistan in UAE the same year, Latham attained a high no other countryman of his could in 24 years: he scored centuries in consecutive Tests. Such was the impact of his batsmanship that it helped New Zealand draw series 1-1 in a time when Pakistan had beaten Australia and then No. 1 England.

Latham did whatever was asked of him in ODIs. He has batted from Nos. 1 to 9 fulfilling team’s need of the hour. He was added to New Zealand’s 2015 World Cup squad as a backup opener. With McCullum and Martin Guptill blazing at the top, Latham was benched throughout New Zealand’s journey to runners-up.

The son of former all-rounder Rod Latham, he had also featured in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup.
Latham’s skills were put to Test when his team toured India. On rank-turners, Latham accumulated 3 fifties. Though Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed him on all three occasions, Latham’s resistance against spin was evidence to the fact that he flips through textbook and follows conventional style of batting. At Dharamsala he became the 10th batsman in history to carry his bat through an all-out ODI innings.